Tips

Point Of View – 2nd

Posted on by dominiquelambright
17
May

Definition

Second person’s point of view is known as the “you” perspective. It is the perspective of the person or persons that the narrator is addressing. The second-person perspective is identifiable by the author’s use of second-person pronouns: you, yourself, your, yours, or yourselves.

Books Written in 2nd POV

  • Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
  • Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas by Tom Robbins
  • Winter Birds by Jim Grimsley
  • Rule 34 by Charles Stross
  • How to Become a Writer by Lorrie Moore

Example of 2nd POV

The use of the second-person perspective in novels or stories is rare, but it does exist. Consider this example from the fiction “Earth and Ashes” by Atiq Rahimi and Erdag Goknar:

With your back to the autumn sun, you are squatting against the iron railings of the bridge that links the two banks of the dry riverbed north of Pul-i-Khumri.

Second person helps to deeply immerse new readers in many children’s books. The entirety of “How to Babysit a Grandpa” is written as a second-person book of instructions:

As soon as your grandpa says, “I give up,” jump out and shout, “Here I am!”

The second-person point of view is perfectly natural for recipes and directions. Here is a way to make lemonade, written in the second person:

  1. You need six lemons, six cups of cold water, and one cup of sugar.
  2. You’ll need a large pitcher for mixing everything and a juicer.
  3. Before you juice the lemons, you can make your work easier by rolling the lemons on the counter hard.
  4. Then you just juice them normally.
  5. You combine the fresh lemon juice, water, and sugar in the pitcher.
  6. Stir; you may want to adjust sweetness or water to taste.

Advantages

Unique Point of View

In literary fiction, authors mainly use the first-person point of view and the third-person point of view. Using the second-person point of view gives the readers a very different perspective.

They get the opportunity to be one of the characters and get involved with the other characters within the novel. Hence, that creates a certain point of intimacy.

The novel Bright Lights, Big City by the author Jay McInerney allows the reader to be a part of a very fast-paced lifestyle within the city of New York.

Creates a Very Adventurous Environment

Since using this point of view allows the writer to put the audience in a very different position, the reader also experiences adventure and action in a very realistic way. For example, in the children’s series that is known as Choose your Adventure, the reader is put in the driver’s seat, and they are given a chance to direct the entire plot.

Allows Reader Reflection & Path Choosing

In many writings where the second person point of view is used, the writer has provided the reader with the opportunity to reflect on the storyline and decide what is best for them. This point of view tries to convince the reader to do a specific thing by putting the reader in the shoes of a certain character.

It allows the reader to face many situations and reflect on emotions and decisions.

Disadvantages

You Could Overwhelm

Since the reader is referred to as a character of the workpiece, sometimes it might get very overwhelming for the reader. They might get too involved with the other characters and the emotions of the writing. As a result, the space that the writer is asking the reader to fulfill might get too intimate and overwhelming for them.

Hence, it is better to maintain a certain distance between the characters of the writing and the reader.

Author Might Not Get To Represent Themselves

Finding a literary agent and securing the publishing deal is becoming harder daily. A huge number of writers are struggling to get their work acknowledged. Since the preference for using a second-person point of view is extremely low, one should avoid using it if they are a new writer as it might not be a good choice for their career.

Suited For Short Stories Than Novels

Writing an entire piece of the novel using the second-person point of view might become extremely tiring and weary. It takes up a lot of energy, and one also has to be very careful while writing in the second person’s point of view since one might get distracted and start writing with their point of view instead of the characters.

On top of that, if the protagonist is unpleasant, it becomes very difficult. But using second person point of view in short stories works much better. It remains unique, adventurous, and intimate.

Common Genres

Except for choose-your-own-adventure stories, second-person POV is very rare in fiction. It is used in nonfiction, such as instruction manuals, cookbooks, and self-help books. In fact, parts of this book are written in second-person POV since I’m addressing you as a reader directly.

dominiquelambright